Quick relaxation techniques to calm your mind

2-Minute Meditation

Switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly. Mentally scan your body. Notice areas that feel tense or cramped. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can. Move your head to your right shoulder, then to the left shoulder, move your head forward from your chin to your chest and then backwards. Roll your shoulders forward and backward several times. Let all of your muscles completely relax. Recall a pleasant thought for a few seconds. Take another deep breath and exhale slowly. You should feel more relaxed.

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Mind Relaxation

Close your eyes. Breathe normally through your nose. As you exhale, silently say to yourself a short word such as “peaceful” or a short phrase such as “I feel quiet” or “I’m safe”. Continue for ten minutes. If your mind wanders, gently remind yourself to think about your breathing and your chosen word or phrase. Let your breathing become slow and steady.

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Deep Breathing Relaxation

Many individuals under stress experience rapid shallow breathing from the upper chest as if preparing for flight or reacting to fear. This type of breathing intensifies anxiety. To reduce stress, take several deep breaths and practice slow, abdominal breathing every chance you can. Imagine a spot just below your navel. Breathe into that spot and fill your abdomen with air. Let the air fill you from the abdomen up, then let it out, like deflating a balloon. With every long, slow breath out, you should feel more relaxed.

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Visualisation

Sometimes we are not able to change our environment to manage stress – this may be the case where we do not have the power to change a situation, or where we are about to give an important performance. Visualisation is a useful skill for relaxing in these situations. Imagery is a potent method of stress reduction, especially when combined with physical relaxation methods such as deep breathing. One common use of visualisation in relaxation is to imagine a scene, place or event that you remember as safe, peaceful, restful, beautiful and happy.

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Physical Exercises

Physical exercises are one of the best methods to prevent you from any kind of stress related problems. One of the best ways to look after your physical and mental health is to follow a rule of 4 for Physical Exercises. The rule of 4 states that the exercises should be done either for 40 mins or 4km, 4 times a week. It builds up our Good hormones (endorphins) and helps make our immune system strong, further helping us to develop a de-stress shield around us.